US-based pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer Antheia has secured $17m in new funding to advance the production of critical pharmaceutical ingredients in the US.
Antheia received the funding through a government project agreement with a consortium of industry partners, and matching investment from new investors.
The financing includes a non-dilutive two-year project agreement worth up to $11m from the Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Preparedness Consortium (BioMaP-Consortium).
The BioMaP-Consortium, which supports the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), consists of pharmaceutical, medical, academic, and scientific organisations.
The consortium aims to enhance the US public health preparedness by expanding the industrial and manufacturing base for medical countermeasures.
Antheia CEO and co-founder Christina Smolke said: “Biotechnology has a critical role to play in US national and economic security.
“With the support of both the public and private sectors, we can leverage this technology to bolster essential medicine production in the US, with an agile, scalable biomanufacturing approach that leapfrogs existing pharmaceutical manufacturing practices.”
The project has been funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Office of Industrial Base Manufacturing and Supply Chain (IBMSC).
As part of the project, Antheia will establish the domestic production of three critical pharmaceutical ingredients at a population scale, using advanced biomanufacturing processes.
In addition, the company secured additional investment from In-Q-Tel (IQT), Echo Investment Capital (Echo), and existing investors such as Viking Global Investors.
Furthermore, the financing follows the validation of its first product, thebaine, and a visit from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said the pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer.
IQT Senior Partner Eugene Chiu said: “The US is a leader in biomanufacturing, synthetic biology, and computational biology, but there is more we must do to scale these advanced technologies to solve global problems like essential medicine shortages.
“We are excited to support Antheia in advancing the US bioeconomy and building resilient pharmaceutical supply chains.”
Echo founding partner and CEO Christian Kanady said: “Antheia’s disruptive innovation is dramatically changing the outlook for security and resiliency of our biopharmaceutical supply chains.
“We are proud to partner in advancing Antheia’s groundbreaking technologies and importantly renewing the domestic bioeconomy in the process.”
